NAFED: Executive Board meets amidst hope and cheers

The Executive Board Committee of the beleaguered cooperative Nafed is meeting Thursday with a renewed zeal in the wake of the news that the govt has given Rs 700 crore to it to procure agri-produce from farmers.

The fund given under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) will also be spent to clear all outstanding payments to farmers for procurement of pulses, mustard seed, groundnut and other commodities undertaken in the 2016-17 crop year, reports PTI.

“We had no fund to buy and we demanded Rs 700 cr; I am happy that it has been granted “, said Vice-Chairman of NAFED Dileepbhai Sanghani on the phone from Ahmadabad. “I am coming to Delhi tomorrow morning and would brief you in detail”, he added.

Earlier, in one stroke Nafed silenced its critics by earning a handsome profit of Rs 125 crore and the Board members thanked the Modi govt for standing by it. If NCUI President and one of the Directors on the board of Nafed Chandra Pal Singh Yadav went in person to thank Radha Mohan Singh, Vice Chairman and an old colleague of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sanghani paid a visit to the former for his support.

“Our team was able to convince the govt that we are not supporting the wrong-doers. To tell you the truth, the board has passed resolution demanding action against the culprits. Slowly we were able to win the trust of the govt and hence this change of attitude”, summarized Sanghani who is famous for being simple and straight.

“We were also able to convince the govt that whether it be internal market or external- the agricultural produce could be best procured by Nafed which has the strongest network for the purpose. Today groundnut and toor daal which had no takers in the past were procured by Nafed benefitting a large number of farmers in Gujarat and other states, Sanghani underlined.

The purpose of PSS is to protect farmers with the minimum support price for their produce in times of price fall. Nafed is procuring pulses under the two government schemes — PSS and PSF (Price Stabilization Fund).

Nafed had procured pulses and other commodities worth Rs 5,800 crore during 2016-17 fiscal mainly under the PSF. In the current fiscal so far, the cooperative has undertaken procurement to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore.